The Metropolitan Division has never been the same since they welcomed the Pittsburgh Penguins to their ranks. The team has earned several Stanley Cups, many conference championships, and nearly a dozen division championships across their many seasons of play. Fans have grown to love the Penguins, turning them into one of the most popular teams in the NHL with strong performances, intense battles, and lots of fun. But nothing is ever more exciting than seeing this team defend their home turf, the PPG Paint Arena.
We make it easy to keep track of this team’s play schedule this season and every season. So you can keep up, mark your calendars, and get ready for the fun. You can even skip the lines and book the best seats in the house via this website, so you have the best view as the Penguins hit the ice by storm. If you love Pittsburgh Hockey and want to see the best in action, then don’t forget to check out this site.
About Pittsburgh Arena
The Pittsburgh Penguins play their games out of the PPG Paints Arena. The arena is an indoor arena that was previously the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the AFL from 2011-2014 and currently serves as the home for the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
The arena was opened to the public just in time for the Penguins’ 2010-11 NHL season and was designed to replace their old home, the Civic Arena.
The arena stands out among sports arenas as being the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold-certified arena in both the NHL and AFL. And soon after opening, it was named “Best New Major Concert Venue” in a Pollstar Concert Industry Awards as well as “Best NHL Arena” in a poll from the Sports Business Journal. And it’s current name comes from the Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries, who purchased naming rights in October 2016.
Besides serving as the home for an AFL and NHL team, the PPG Paint Arena has seen use by some of the biggest musicians in the world. For instance, its debut performance was a concert held by Paul McCartney on August 18, 2010. The concert stands out since demand was so high that tickets sold out within five minutes which prompted a second show to be held a day later on August 19.
The arena has been the host for several other stellar performances in its first month including appearances by Lady Gaga, Roger Waters and Rush. George Strait, Reba McEntire, and Lee Ann Womack.
It also hosted a tour date of Justin Bieber’s My World Tour on December 13, 2010 and a date of his Believe Tour on November 20, 2012, both to sold out crowds. Cher also held a knockout performance at the venue during her Dressed To Kill Tour on April 2, 2014. And later that year, Katy Perry played a date of her The Prismatic World Tour to the arena on July 22, 2014.
Ice Hockey Achievements
The Pittsburgh Penguins were founded as an expansion team in 1967. Since the team formed, they have qualified for 6 Stanley Cup Finals and won 5 of these encounters between 1991-2017. This places the Penguins as tied with the Edmonton Oilers for the most Stanley Cup championships among the non-Original Six teams and sixth overall. And with their 2016 and 2017 wins, they became the first back-to-back champions since the salary cap era began.
As you can imagine, many of the team’s former members have landed into Hockey Hall of Fame inductions, including co-owner Mario Lemieux, who purchased the Penguins in 1999 and brought the club out of bankruptcy. Lemieux, and fellow players Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin have also earned honors by winning the Hart Memorial Trophy while playing for the franchise.
Here is a brief list of the team’s achievements and exceptional seasons across their history:
5 Stanley Cups (1990–91, 1991–92, 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17)
6 Conference championships 6 (1990–91, 1991–92, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17)
1 Presidents’ Trophy (1992–93)
9 Division championships (1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2007–08, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2020–21)
History
The Pittsburgh Penguins got their start in the late 1960s. Prior to their formation, the city was home to the NHL’s Pittsburgh Pirates who played from 1925 to 1930 as well as the Pittsburgh Hornets from 1936-1967. Towards the end of the Hornets play in the city, Jack McGregor, a state senator from Kittanning, Pennsylvania, began lobbying campaign contributors and community leaders to bring an NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh.
This group focused on leveraging the NHL as an urban renewal tool for Pittsburgh. And eventually the group pushed to secure votes to be chosen as one of the NHL expansion cities. This effort was successful and led to the NHL awarding an expansion team to Pittsburgh for the 1967-68 season.
Hockey Fanbase
It’s surprising to think that the team struggled with fan reception, especially given how popular the Pittsburgh Penguins has since become. But early on, the team struggled with filling seats as games averaged 6,000 fans per game despite the Civic Arena having capacity for over 16,000. Fan support was low enough that the team’s first bankruptcy led to the NHL having no problem with moving the team.
But smart recruitment including drafting Mario Lemieux led to fan interest increasing steadily and exploding after Sidney Crosby arrived. This and their recent performance from the 90s to today has led to the team becoming a hot and popular commodity. In fact, the team is is second behind the Steelers among the city’s major sports teams. In fact, a 2007 survey of 122 teams in the four major sport’s leagues showed that the Penguins were ranked 20th overall and third among NHL teams.